The" Oklahoma Eagle": a Study of Black Press Survival
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 270 809 CS 209 908 AUTHOR Brown, Karen F. TITLE The "Oklahoma Eagle": A Study of Black Press Survival. PUB DATE Aug 86 NOTE 18p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (69th, Norman, OK, August 3-6, 1986). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150)-- Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Black Businesses; Black Employment; Journalism; *Newspapers; Publications; Publishing Industry IDENTIFIERS Family Owned Businesses; *Goodwin (Edward Lawrence); Journalism History; News Reporters; *Oklahoma Eagle ABSTRACT Analyzing the history of the "Oklahoma Eagle" provides insight into the problems and the opportunities involved in operating a black newspaper and reveals the factors re..ponsible for the paper's longevity. The paper has been owned and operated by members of the Edward Lawrence Goodwin family since 1938 and has been staffed by excellent journalists over thecourse of the years. A review of copies of the "Eagle" from the last 9years reveals a number of consistencies. The paper was normally neat and well edited, and contained many ads, particularly in the 1970s. Generally, the paper provided significant news. A member of the Goodwin family listed five factors that have enabled the paper to survive: (1) quality staff; (2) advertising success; (3) size of community; (4) sound relations with the community; and (5) family commitment. Eight years have passed since the death of E. L. Goodwin, and the family-owners have undertaken changes, but they have yetto find solid management footing. The problems of the "Eagle"are typical of the Black press today, and other papers may benefit from the "Eagle's" experience. (DF) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made * * from the original document. * *****************************************************;:***************** a .t Minorities and Communications Division AEJMC "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U$DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educations! Research and improvement MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY O EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )(pis document bat been reproduced as CO eceived from the person or organization originating it Karen F. Brown CO r Minor changes have been made to improve N- reproduction quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CV Points of vie* or opinions stated In this docu ment do not necessarily represent oflicia! INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" C) OERI position or policy UJ The alehame r fogle A Study of Black Press Survival Karen F. Brown Department of Mass Communications University of South Florida Tampa, Florida The author expresses appreciation to Jeanne Goodwin Arradondo, who provided information for this study from her private collection. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 TheOklahoma Eagle:A Study of Black Press Survival When Thursday comes to Tulsa, so does theOklahoma EagleIt has been that way for about 68 years The news has changed, but for readers in Tulsa, and subscribers throughout the nation and world, theEaglehas remained a source of news, gossip, social and church notes, sports reports, editorials, and reader response in letters. Since a 1921 race riot topics in the Eaglehave changed from rebuilding to considering the possibility of integration, adjusting to a mood of black radicalism, and maintaining a sense of community while urban renewal scattered black residents. While the black press has appeared to be near extinction for three decades, local papers, such as the Eagle, have quietly carried on. Yet the title of a 1950 article, "The Vanishing Negro Pressl," symbolizes the dominant theme of discussion on the black press in recent years. Indeed, the facts and figures have been grim.In addition to problems faced by all newspapers, such as competition from the electronic media and the increasing cost of paper and other supplies, the black press nas had other jolts. A decline in readers and loss of talented staff members came in the early 60's as civil rights gains led to greater coverage of black news in white daill2S, and the hiring of some personnel from the black press.2 Later in the decade, the militant press caused a revival in publishing,3 but the resurgence ceased by the mid-70's. Recent indications suggest that the black press is showing some resilience. A 1984 U.S. News and World Report 4 article said that the ethnic press in the nation is growing, with the black press being the largest group. With 161 newspapers and a total circulation of about 4.5 million it was more than five times larger than the second largest group. This article and another5 referred to a five-year study by Dr. James Tinney of Howard University, in which he indicated that there are more black papers than are commonly reported. He estimated that there are over 320 black papers. Although reporting methods by differing sources cause some variance, an indication of the number of black newspapers is provided in Table 1. 1Wolseley, Roland E. The Vanishing Negro Press," Negro Digest, December 1950, 9,2. 2"Victims of Negro Progress," Newsweek. August 26, 1963. 3"Playing It Cool," Time, July 28,1967. 4Thornton, Jeannye with Melody Harris, "Why EthnicPress is Alive and Growing," U.S. News and World Report, October 29,1984, 97, 79-80. 5"Prof's Research Uncovers Many Black Newspapers," Jet, April 8,1985, 68, p.24. BEST COPY AVAILABLE TABLE 1Black Newspaper Frequencies by Years Year Number of Papers Source 1939 152 Ayer6 1958 170 Ayer 1962 131 Ayer 1966 170 Ayer 1969 158 Ayer 1971 225 Ayer 1972 208 La Brie 7 1985 164 Ed. & Pub. 8 This research is a descriptive study of black press survival as presented through a case study of one newspaper. The Oh7ehoine fegle represents the type of weekly newspaper that serves a community, even a region, while sometimes going uncounted nationally. Although it is listed in the 1935 Editor and Publisher Yearbook, it is not listed in Ayer's American Newspaper Annual and Directory after 1983. The guiding research question is: What are the lectors that have allowed the Oklahoma fegleto survive? The method of historical research was used to look at the paper's past. In addition to a review of the literature on the paper and a study of back issues, interviews were conducted with many who have been involved with the paper. The literature on the black press includes little research on the business of the press. The literature could be divided into six categories. Authors such as Brooks 9and Oak10 surveyed the black press by focusing on 6Ayer and Son's Directory, Philadelphia, years as indicated. 7LaBrie, Henry G. III, ed.11te.Blacl, Press m America: A Guide (Third Edition) Harvard University, 1973. 8Editor and Publisher Yearbook. New York, 1985. 9Brooks, Maxwell R. The Negro Press Reexamined, Boston: Christopher Press, 1959. 100ak, Vishnu V. The Negro Newspaper. Westport, Conn.: Negro Universities Press, 1948. 101 COPY AVAILABLE 4 3 BEST COPY AVAILABLE several of the largest newspapers Dann,11 Penn,12 and Detweiler13 looks,d at the general black press, but their works were on particular periods or they are dated. Wolseley14 and LaBne15 present more recent studies of the press. Regional and state studies have been undertaken to increase the information on the numbers and histories of papers in particular areas. These include dissertations by Pride,16 Slaven,17 Grouse,18 and Brown,19 theses by Moten20 and Moses,21 and a book by Suggs.22 Biographies and autobiographies of leading journalists of black newspapers offer insight on the history and operations of the black press. 11Dann, Martin E. The Black Press, 1827-1890. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971. 12Penn, I. Garland. Afro-American Press and Its Editors New York: Arno Press, 1969, originally 1891. 13Detweiler, Frederick G. The Negro Press in the United States, College Park, Maryland: McGrath, 1922. 14Wolseley, Roland R. The Black Press, USA. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1971. 15LaBrie, Henry G. III,ed. Perspectives on the Black Press:1974. Kennebunkport, Maine: Mercer House Press, 1974. 16Pride, Armistead S.A Register and History of Negro Newspapers in the United States," (dissertation, Northwestern University, 1950). 17Slaven, George Everett. "A History of the Missouri Negro Press," (dissertation, University of Missouri, 1969). 18Grouse, Charles William. "Black Newspapers in Texas 1866 1970," (dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 1972). 19Brown, Karen F. "The Black Press of Tennessee: 1865 1980," (dissertation, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 1982). 20Moten, Rashey B. "The Negro Press of Kansas," (thesis, University of Kansas, 1938). 21Moses, Bernadine. "An Historical and Analytical View of Black Newspapers in North Carolina," (thesis, University of North Carolina, 1976). 22Suggs, Henry Lewis, ed. The Black Press in the South, 1865-1979. Westport, Conn. and London: Greenwood Press, 1983. 4 These include works by Duster,'? Fox,24 Thornbrough25 and Ott ley 26 Finally there are also studies of particular issues, newspapers or news organizations. Ammons. Dimmick and Pilotta's27 study of crime ne%,.vs reporting, and Seeman's28 look at the Chicago Defender are examples Several works in the literature touch on the business of the black press, but there is not much in-depth research. Oak29 made an effort at studying the business of the press when he devoted the first volume of a series of studies of the black press to "the Negro Entrepreneur." This study of the Oklahoma Eagleis to take another look et the problems and the opportunities involved in operating a black newspaper. It is an effort to name the factors that have caused one long-lasting paper to survive. History The roots of the 01 0/V177d Eagle go back to the Daily Tulsa Star, founded in 1913 by Andrew J. Smitherman.30 Smitherman was a civil rights leader, attorneu and Justice of the Peace. He built the paper to a respected publication, but in 1921, his Star disappeared.